


Hyakkimaru

by ukiyo (yukisadah)



Category: Dororo (Anime 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Demons still exist, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-12-26 23:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18292352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukisadah/pseuds/ukiyo
Summary: Governor Daigo Kagemitsu, former mayor of Kaga City, knows he has to do something to keep his position as governor in this trying era. Natural disasters, economic depressions, skyrocketing crime rates-- the only plus is demons have been eradicated by the police force and priests. Mostly. He knows of one place he can go to make a deal, if Buddha won't help them, perhaps the twelve demons will.Hyakkimaru was raised by Jukai, a doctor and prosthetic specialist. For the past sixteen years, demon and ghouls have begun reappearing in Japan, wrecking havoc on the nation. Realizing this blind, deaf, limbless boy is somehow connected to everything, Jukai gives him a bus pass and encourages him to fight demons across the country to gain his limbs back. Along the way he meets Dororo, a young homeless boy eager to help his "Big bro" out.Tahomaru knows his parents are hiding something from him. They've become more and more at odds recently, the increased natural disasters are only the cherry on top. Something is going on, and he's going to find out what and fix it. With his kendo skills and loyal bodyguards at his side, he's determined to unravel the secret behind his mother's anguish.





	1. 醍醐の巻

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello! Modern AU we all wanted this and here it is!! This did not go as planned, originally demons weren't going to exist and the demons were going to be yakuza, but that didn't end up happening lol This first chapter is very similar to the first episode, but expect things to diverge more and more as we go along! I don't have a beta reader so I apologize for any mistakes, I'm planning to go over everything after a while and fix some things up if need be.
> 
> I'm also planning to update every two weeks, alternately with the Gintama fic I'm planning to write weekly. I'll also have a series of happy one-shots in this AU after we reach a certain point, so please be on the lookout for that!
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!

    Rain beat mercilessly against the hospital windows, a cloudy dreariness that spread across the entire city. The smell of antiseptic and pure white of every surrounding wall served a startling contrast to the view outside the windows. A man stood looking outside, hand placed gently atop the glass barrier separating the cascading water from the inside of the hospital room. His thoughts swirled as he gazed outside, ignoring the grunts from his wife and the calming words of the nurse, his mind drifted to a few days prior.

On a day much like this, he had gone to visit the temple, the center of their city and hence, the center of their small region. It was not the sort of temple one would go to for a blessing, rather, it was a Buddhist shrine in which twelve great demons had been sealed. For many years the people of their world had been terrorized by demons, priests and swordsmen in the old days had fought them, priests and trained policemen did now. The majority of these beings had been either wiped out or eternally sealed, common knowledge among the relieved public. Demons and ghouls had mostly been eradicated, this was true, however there were some that still remained. Some would attack certain areas, albeit rare, though they were more swiftly dealt with once the police came.

Every town had a police station, most towns had a priest kept at this station. While it was more precautionary than anything else, given how rare these sightings were, it was a necessary defense. The people felt more secure with these guards. 

For those higher up such as himself, however, the truth of the matter was kept amongst their inner circles. While the majority of those who attacked the civilians were small level, easily taken out by the guards, the twelve great demons who had razed the earth during the warring states era were only partially sealed. What had them unsealed was unknown, and there were currently no priests strong enough to seal them completely. Legend stated that, if given the chance, these demons could easily slip out and disguise themselves as humans, causing strife and havoc in innumerable ways. A few lower level demons already did, though as long as they did not cause trouble it was best to just ignore them. 

Every time an earthquake hit or a landslide fell, the possibility of these statues crumbling was enough to make those in the know anxious with worry. Unfortunately, there had been many of these natural disasters recently. The past few years had been some of the worst for their region, with low crops, rising prices, and heightened crime rates alongside these hits from nature. Politically as well, trouble had been stirring. While Japan had been a peaceful country decades now, with all of the strife hitting the region, the people were becoming restless. Many thought he should be replaced, a new and better counterpart voted into office. With elections coming up, he couldn’t afford to lose everything now. The problem was, all of these problems were outside of his immediate control. Not that the public would understand that.

Walking up the stone stairs to the Hall of Hell, the room which house the twelve sealed demons, former mayor and current governor Kagemitsu Daigo felt his weariness consume him. This was his last chance, his last hope for retaining power and saving their region. He hadn’t bothered discussing it with any of the other members of the government, there was no point in it, they might try to stop him. 

A light shone from within, likely that of a flame given the temple’s reluctance to switch to electricity. Throwing open the doors, a dimly lit room greeted the man, inside an elder priest sitting before the twelve statues. A witness. How unfortunate. 

“Governor Daigo,” the elder recognized him without even turning to spare a glance, “One who steps into the Hall of Hell as you have has made a choice. To cast away Buddha and the gods, the side with the demons...it is useless for me to attempt to stop you,” he relented, before turning around to face the man, “But allow me to try. Mr. Daigo, this is the path of evil, if you choose this, you will no longer be considered a human by the end. What awaits you down this path is nothing but the fires of Hell,” the man warned.

“What difference does it make when we are already heading towards Hell,” the politician countered, brown eyes staring down harshly at the other, “Things like Buddha and the gods have done nothing for us now. They might as well not exist,” he shook his head, revealing his lack of faith.

The priest frowned, looking back at the younger man, “You will face the consequences for your actions one day, Governor,” another warning, another left without impact.

“I care not,” the expected reply came.

At these words, the man who had dedicated his life to Buddha, turned and attempted to flee, knowing it was unlikely Daigo would want witnesses around. Of course, this too proved futile. A single gunshot was all it took.

Blood splattered across a few of the statues, the candle the elder had been grasping onto falling to the ground, now extinguished. With his last words, the elder trembled, face now stained by the growing pool of blood underneath him, “Thank you, sir...To be honest...I had been losing my faith,” he paused for a moment, “With prayers seeming hopeless...I feared I would begin to doubt Buddha. I’m glad to pass on before that could happen,” he explained.

One last warning, “Please stay away from the demons, do not go down the path of evil…” he trailed off, the shot to the chest evidently too much for him to continue to push through. Without another word, he went silent.

Although he did not believe in the gods or Buddha, Daigo clasped his hands together in a prayer, for the elder. Eyes closed, he could only apologize to the other in his mind, “It’s too late for that.”

Ignoring the growing mess of blood and the corpse quickly growing cold, Daigo took a seat before the statues, the second candle still flickering beside him. His gaze meeting those of the twelve statues, the man spoke, “Twelve demons, I am Daigo Kagemitsu, former mayor of Kaga city and current governor of Ishikawa prefecture. Our region has been affected with disaster after disaster, both natural and inorganic. As things stand, I will not be able to win reelection or further my political ambitions,” standing now, the man further approached the statues, “I will not rely on useless things such as the gods or Buddha. This is not a pray, but a deal. If you will protect this land and allow me to continue as governor, I will sacrifice anything of mine you desire,” he offered with no hint of hesitation.

Holding his arms open, the man continued, “Take anything you want. Do you hear me!” he exclaimed, bearing all for the demons’ taking. After a moment, the wind blew, now extinguishing the lone candle and plunging the room into complete darkness. A lightning bolt from seemingly nowhere came down upon the man, wrapping around the entire building.

A blinding pain broke upon Daigo, the man falling forward in agony. Another affliction came from his forehead, blood now pouring from an x-shaped mark carved into it.

Mind returning to the present, Daigo heard his wife speak.

“Goddess of Mercy, please protect me…” she gasped out. She really was the opposite of him, clinging onto her faulty belief despite everything. The statue she kept, the one she had insisted stay in the room and the reason behind their stay at a private hospital, was evident of this. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to chastise her. Least of all at this moment. 

Now looking back at the room behind him where his wife lay, the sound of a baby crying broke the air. The nurse’s exclamation came forth, “A handsome young boy!”

The sudden appearance of lightning blinded everyone, the electricity raining down upon the bundle held within the nurse’s arms. After a moment, the light cleared, making everything visible again. The sudden pain in his forehead disappearing, Daigo stood up, watching as one of the nurse’s ran out while trying to hold back her screams.

Rushing forward, the man stopped in the doorway, another nurse trembling next to him. His eyes took in the room, searching for what could have spooked the medical personnel so much. Gaze moving to his wife, who sat holding the baby while the third and final nurse sat wide-eyed on the ground, he questioned, “What happened?”

“My husband,” she smiled, happy to finally see him.

“Was it born?” he questioned, taking a further step in.

From the floor, the nurse looked up at him, “Yes, but…”

Growing impatient now, the man snapped, “What? Out with it,” he spoke gruffly.

The bundle in her arms wriggling, his wife smiled at him, “He’s born and here in my arms,” she spoke happily, gently holding the baby.

“Ma’am…” the nurse urged, shocked by the woman’s reaction to what had just transpired mere moments ago. 

Pleased by the news of a boy, the man smiled, “An heir! You’ve done well, Oku,” he praised. Kneeling down beside the other, he held his arms out to hold the child. 

Frantically, the nurse stood up, reaching forward, “No, sir, wait--!”

Upon seeing the baby’s face, the man let out a gasp, leaning back on instinct. Next to him, the nurse kneeled, speaking apologetically, “I don’t know what happened. He’s alive, but he has no limbs, eyes, nose, nor even skin,” and yet, moments ago he had had all of them.

Looking down at the grotesque husk of a baby, the man thought back to the deal he had made not too long ago, his own words echoing in his mind.

“I will give you anything of mine you desire.”

“My husband, I love this child of ours, it doesn’t matter if he’s deformed in such a way,” his wife confessed, a small smile on her face, “His looks do not matter, he is our son no matter what.”

Not even listening to her words, realization hit Daigo. This meant the demons had accepted his pact, that they would follow through on the deal. It meant he would remain governor, that his wishes would come true. Without meaning to, laughter bubbled out of his throat, causing the two women in the room with him to flinch back in shock at his sudden reaction. 

“Everything will come true,” he couldn’t resist stating gleefully, confusing the two women.

Unable to understand what he meant, Oku questioned, “Dear?”

Now even more pleased than he had initially been, the governor smirked, “The demons agreed to the deal,” laughing once more.

Shocked, his wife flinched back, now understanding the situation. She too, born into a family of higher rank, knew what this meant. That her husband had sacrificed their son for some wish of his.

Handing the bundle to the shocked and baffled nurse, “Get rid of it at the outskirts. It won’t live long enough to bother trying to send it to an orphanage,” he waved it away. Turning to his wife, he continued, “Don’t worry. You did a good job giving birth to it,” smirk remaining as the nurse quickly stood up and ran out with the sacrifice.

“What are you doing? Stop!” Oku cried, trying to force herself off the bed to chase after the fleeing woman. Her wounds and Daigo’s arms kept her on the bed, unable to do anything but helplessly watch as her first born child was taken further and further away from her. He would be left out to die, a thought she could barely stand, “Wait!” she cried, biting back tears, desperation coating her voice.

“Forget it, that thing never existed,” the governor ordered, continuing to hold the weakened woman down.

“No! No!” she continued to cry, fighting to get up and go after her child.

Rushing forward, the nurse who had remained paralyzed by the door approached the pair, “Ma’am, please stay in bed. You cannot get up yet,” she advised, helping to hold the other down.

Knowing her efforts were fruitless, Oku turned to words, “Please, have mercy,” she begged, hoping her husband would hear her cries.

Looking into her eyes, Daigo reasoned, “It wouldn’t have survived anyways,” and was it not kinder to help it die quicker than letting it suffer through life for a bit longer?

“Then, at least let him pass away in my arms,” she begged, now grasping onto her husband’s sleeve desperately. 

Frustration evident, Daigo grasped her arms, “Enough!” shoving her back down into the bed more forcefully, he stood, “You will have another child. The next one will be worthy of being my heir,” he smirked, ignoring as his wife sobbed. The nurse bent her knees, trying to figure out some way to comfort the crying woman.

A sudden sight caught the man’s eye, making him reel back in shock. He walked to the corner of the room where his wife had insisted on keeping a small shrine to the Goddess of Mercy, one hand picking up the statue that had falling from its perch. Confused, he held up the now headless statue, “This is…” he trailed off, trying to think of a reason such a thing could have happened.

The nurse came over to stand by him, explaining, “It was blown away when the lightning struck. The elder nurse said it sacrificed itself.”

“‘Sacrificed’...?” he repeated the word, turning back to look at the figure. As his wife continued to cry in the background, his thoughts swirled. What did this mean for his deal, then? What did this mean for anything?

Within the Hall of Hell, the demonic statues began to glow a deep purple.

 

Meanwhile, the nurse who had run out with the baby sighed sadly down at it, trying to decide what to do. This went against the usual code, but when it came to the governor, it was best to follow orders. Still, she didn’t want to kill the child. Perhaps she could leave him in a baby box somewhere? Thankfully the rain had stopped.

“What could have caused this?” she wondered down at the bloodied bundle. The bundle that had held a perfectly healthy little boy earlier. She had seen him, he had been a healthy child for a few moments before the lightning struck. Adjusting the child in her arms as she walked down the riverside, she sighed, “Being alive would only be harder for you in this state,” she admitted, ignorant to the bright red eyes now watching her.

Setting him down in the water, she looked down at the boy, “Go on, dear. Buddha will care for you in the afterlife,” she spoke sadly. His empty eye sockets seemed to look up at him, causing the woman pause. Closing her eyes for a moment, she held back tears, “Do you desire to live?” she questioned, knowing she would not be able to do this.

    As luck would have it, an abandoned older wooden rowboat lay on the water’s edge. Perhaps she could put him there and send him down? Old legends told of children surviving such things if fate decided it. Perhaps this child would also be saved, then. Picking the bundle up, she made her way over to the boat. Placing the boy upon it, she gently pushed the child down the river, standing up, “The rest is up to your luck, my dear child.”

    Taking a step back, she watched for a moment as he floated away. An odd rustling, however, caught her attention. Turning, unable to react as a demon towered over her. It was almost like a giant praying mantis, with the head being the skull of an ancient samurai rather than that of a bug. Within moments, it was upon her, ripping and tearing into the elder woman.

    “I smell something…” a voice called out, causing the feasting demon to pause in partaking in its meal.

    Turning around, the beast, with a piece of the woman still within its jaws, turned to stare at the old man now behind him. It was clear the old man was a priest, the more traditional clothing and biwa in his hand unusual in the current era. The clothes were ragged, hinting at his nature as a wandering nomad. Perhaps even homeless. His gaze was glazed over and nonexistent, and yet he seemed to know the ghoul was there. 

    “...the stench of evil,” the man sniffed the air again, smirking a bit and turning his head this way and that. The red soul of the demon stood clearly before him, dropping its meal as it raced in his direction.

    Nonplussed, the man grabbed the top of his biwa, revealing a sword hidden within him. It was over in one strike, the ghoul sliced clean in half and falling away in a puff of purple smoke. Sheathing his sword, the man moved to walk away, stopping when he suddenly noticed another presence.

    On the the lake stood a human soul with traces of demonic energy in it, causing the man pause, “What is that?” he asked the air, pulling his sword out again, “Not human,” then paused, “Yet, not a ghoul, either.”

    Closing his sword again, he smiled, “I smell a curse,” something he couldn’t necessarily blame the individual for. Turning around, he made his way down the riverbank, using his walking stick to help him maneuver. 

 

    Sixteen years had passed, by now the lands outside of Kaga city had found increased demon attacks and crime. Outside of Ishikawa prefecture, these rates were even worse. The monsters once thought to be rare were not commonplace, with more deaths and more police officers being trained every year.

    It was no longer uncommon to find the deceased scattered along the roads in rural areas. Cleanup was more common in cities than in less populated areas, areas which were often more susceptible to ghoul attacks than the densely populated regions. Priests would wander, praying for the dead in hopes of helping their soul pass along more peacefully. Along with them was said to be a man wandering around, providing prosthetics for the dead. A doctor, so they say, one who worked from his home in the suburbs, but often came out wandering the fields in rural areas to provide his extra unusable parts so that the corpses may have a full body for the next life.

    He was known as Dr. Jukai, a man beloved by those of the suburban and rural areas. Whenever he received praise, he would always wave it away. Perhaps that was due to the rumors surrounding his past, perhaps just due to his humbleness. Only those who knew him could truly know.

 

    Near one of the larger towns close by Kaga City, a young man walked along the roads, making his way towards the town center. 

    In said town, a young voice called out, beckoning for any and all interested, “Come to our stand! These goods are straight from Kaga City,” a few people gathered around the stall a young child sat out, various goods before him. Pulling up one of the items, he held it out for the gathering crowd to see, “This is real silk, bought off from the princess herself! Won’t you feel it, Miss?” he asked, holding the red cloth for the closest woman to try.

    Moving to the next item, the child pat the large brown earthenware pot, “And this is a sake jug! I’m sure you all know of the Yamata no Orochi legend, this is the very same from that story, everything here is one of a kind,” the boy rubbed his face against said object, trying to prove its worth. 

    “If you by now, I’ll even throw in a few fresh caught fish from this very same river!” he exclaimed, “First come, first serve!”

    The child looked to be around ten or eleven at the eldest, wearing black jeans and old scuffed up white sneakers. A white short-sleeved shirt was covered by a green zip-up jacket, the red choker he wore winding around his neck twice. His hair was put up in a high short ponytail, bangs brushed left across his forehead. No adult seemed to be in charge of him, the black-haired boy alone with all of these goods spread out on a table at the street corner. 

    A burly man suddenly pushed through the crowd, stalking towards the child, “Found you, Dororo,” he ground out, four other smaller men beside him. Each wore simple t-shirts and jeans, with scars marring their features from previous fights.

“Oh shit,” the kid reeled back, biting his lip. Well, the jig was up. 

    Realizing something was about to happen, the crowd dispersed, returning to their usual activities. Bending to inspect the goods, the man look back at the others, “These are our goods, aren’t they,” a rhetorical question.

    “Got any proof?” the brown-eyed boy asked, turning his head away and avoiding directly looking at any of the men.

    Angry now, the other growled out, “Don’t fuck with me! You said you were starving so we took pity on you, letting you help us out and you run off with our things.”

    One of the other men looked down at the child with disdain, “We heard this is your usual trick, damn street rat,” shifting to look at their leader.

    Fist hitting the palm of his other hand in a mock punch, the leader smirked, “We were asked to make sure you paid for this,” promising a beating.

    Letting out a snort, the boy coyly responded, “It’s your fault for being so naive, you should learn from me,” throwing out a smirk of his own.

    Now even more annoyed, the elder clenched his fist, “That’s it, no more nice guy. You’re gonna pay for this like an adult,” only to be stopped as the boy threw the large pot in his face, knocking the man over.

    Taking the chance to escape, the boy rushed away from the stall, running off down the road towards the river. With a laugh as the other called for him to get back there, he turned and responded, “Catch me if you can!” easily evading their pursuit. He had been in this town for a while now, no one could outrun him on these streets.

    A woman and child watched as they ran, the woman carrying a bag of groceries in one hand. Enraptured by the sight, her son let go of her hand and walked to try to take a closer look, not realizing the road was atop a small hill leading down to the river. His foot slipped and he fell down the hill with a cry, sliding across the grass until a hand grabbed him. With almost no effort, a long-haired teen pulled him back up with one arm, placing the child back on the ground before turning away without a word. 

    “Ah, thank you!” the mother bowed, pushing her son’s head down to bow as well, “Hey, don’t just stand there, say thank you!”

    Confused, the boy turned to his mother in question, “Mom, is there another festival today?” he asked.

    “Of course not,” she replied, “We just had one recently, the next isn’t for a while.”

    Pointing towards the teenager continuing to walk away, the boy explained, “But that guy is wearing a mask!” and don’t people only wear masks for a festival? Following his finger, the mother and son watched the boy walk away with puzzlement.

    Ambling into an alley, the man chasing Dororo looked around, “Where did he go?” he asked, two men at his side. Suddenly, a piece of garbage hit the side of his face, causing him to touch his skin in confusion, “What is this? Garbage?!” he exclaimed, wiping it off his face and throwing it on the ground.

    In quick succession, his two comrades had garbage thrown on their face as well, a young voice snickering from atop one of the apartment buildings. Throwing the garbage away, the boy mocked, “Wash your face with that and come get me!” running across the roof.

    “That brat is asking for it,” the man growled, still trying to remove the garbage from his hair.

    Dororo ran over to the fire escape and climbed down the building, making his way towards the river so he could wash his hands. The old broken down bridge stood tall behind him as he rolled his sleeves up and dipped his hands in the water, making sure all of the grime was gone. Standing up, he wiped his hands on his hoodie and pulled his sleeves back down, “Now that was fun, too bad about the goods though,” he shrugged. It was alright, he would be able to find some way to make money elsewhere. 

    The sound of whining caught his attention, the boy turning to find a small puppy walking over to him. Looking down at it, he asked, “What’s wrong, little guy? Can’t find your mommy?” kneeling down as the puppy jumped up on his knee. Feeling a tinge of pity, the child continued, “What is it? Are you hungry?” pulling out a small dried fish he had been keeping for emergencies. 

    Immediately the puppy began to bark happily, trying to jump up and catch the fish. Holding it above the baby’s head, he shook his own head, “No, I can’t. You have to learn how to survive on your own,” he lectured, “Handouts won’t do you any good, you need to learn to fend for yourself,” looking down at the whining dog.

    Despite what he said, the pity began to rise once again in the child. Realizing this, he fought against himself, shaking his head a bit to clear his thoughts, “No, no, this is for your own good.”

    A hand suddenly reached down, grabbing the puppy by the scruff of his neck and holding him up as he barked, “There you are, Dororo,” the man from before smirked.

    “Hey! Let him go!” the child exclaimed, fists clenching at his sides. 

    “This your dog?” the guy asked, moving to hold the puppy in an even more uncomfortable manner, “Then he’ll have to pay for what you did,” he grinned, pulling harshly at the animal’s leg.

    Unable to take the sight, Dororo exclaimed once more, “Stop it!” 

    Knowing he had him where he wanted him, the elder narrowed his eyes with glee, “Then do as we say.”

    Gritting his teeth, the boy could do nothing but agree. As he was beaten into the ground by the three men, he was at least relieved to see the puppy safely run off away from the river. After what seemed an eternity, the men stepped back, “Had enough? Don’t steal from us again,” he commanded.

    Angry at being ordered to do something, the child picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the man’s face, hitting him on the forehead. Spurred on by this, his two lackeys rushed forward, “You brat, you’re asking for it!” they exclaimed, kicking him into the ground.

    “Enough,” their boss came over, stepping on the child’s hand, “Never show your face on this side of town again, got it?” 

    As they walked away, thinking the message had come across sufficiently enough, the boy’s voice stopped them. Getting up on his hands and knees, the child refuted, “No...Nobody orders me around,” he spoke in a quieter voice, yelling as he finished, “No one tells me where to live!” throwing another rock, hitting the man’s eye this time.

    “You wanna die that badly?” he asked, clutching his injured eye as blood flowed from the wound. Rushing forward, he picked the child up by his hood, slamming him face down into the shallows of the river. Nobody was around at this time of night to witness it, and who would care if a homeless brat died? 

    “Bring some stones, we’ll tie them to him,” he called back to his men, the two immediately moving to follow orders, stopping upon noticing a young man watching them from the bridge.

    The man seemed to be a teenager, on the shorter side but clearly over fifteen. He wore a reddish-brown scarf that covered the bottom half of his face, a black mid arm-sleeved shirt with a white thin collar atop what was likely a skin-tight black turtleneck, paired with grey shorts. A black sneaker was worn on his left foot while his right seemed to only have a simple black sandal, what could only be described as thick stockings appeared to be worn underneath the shorts. Above this ensemble he wore a dark grey poncho, covering the majority of his outfit until it blew with the wind, black gloves covering his hands. His long black hair was put up in a high ponytail looking somewhat messy, as though he did not brush it often. 

    At his side, the pale teen had a black bag with a strap going across his chest and a sword sheathed to his hip, an uncommon sight in modern Japan, even during this era. Most opted for guns or other more modern long distance means of protection, though it was not completely unheard of for one to have a knife or sword of some sort. Still, there was something off about the boy. He stood staring off into the distance with blank maroon eyes, his face oddly inhuman.

“What are you doing, hurry up,” the leader queried, looking back to the frozen men. 

Pointing at the teen atop the crumbling bridge, one of his underlings replied, “Boss, there’s some weird teenager up there looking over here,” knowing he didn’t want any witnesses.

Moving to look himself, the man let out a, “Huh?” unintentionally.

Unnerved, the other underling with him couldn’t tear his eyes away from the teen, “His face looks like a doll’s...and his eyes don’t look real either, what is he looking at?” he wondered, holding back a shiver, “It’s creepy…”

Taking the chance to get some air, Dororo raised his head up from the water and looked up at the aforementioned stranger. Who was that? Would they help him get away from these bastards?

“Hey, bro. We’re not the ones in the wrong here, you know. This kid is the one who caused trouble, he’s just getting his just desserts,” the boss tried to explain away, knowing it was all over for them if the cops were called. Sure, the kid was a criminal, but that didn’t mean it was legal to kill him for it.

Yet, the other did not respond in any way. It was almost as though he hadn’t even heard.

“Hey, can you hear me?” he asked. The only response he received was the younger male nudging his sword at his side up, reaching to grasp at the handle. Noting this, he was immediately on the defensive, “What, you wanna fight?” the man asked. 

Long forgotten, Dororo spoke up suddenly, “No, that’s not it. I don’t think he’s looking at us,” he spoke quietly, “Those eyes...he’s looking behind us,” he noted, turning his head to look behind them.

Looking as well, his tormentor spoke confusedly, “Huh? There’s nothing there, just some trash,” he noted, watching as a heap came floating down the river. Nothing too unusual, really.

The teenager continued to stare at the river, seeing what no one else there could. 

Suddenly, the trash flew up into the air, startling the men on the river’s shore. Standing up now and taking a step back, the boss watched in horror, “What the…” unable to get another word in as a mass of grime engulfed his head, pulling him forward into the main body of the being as he screamed. The thing, now known to be a demon, seemed to open its mouth and eat the man whole. 

From his position on the ground, the child could only gape in horror, “It ate him…”

Realizing the situation, the other two men immediately turned tail and ran, screaming as they did. This proved futile as the two men were immediately grabbed by two more arms of grime, eaten in mere moments. Seeing this, Dororo crawled forward, trying to escape without being noticed by the being. Of course, this was also a useless endeavor, in a split second he too had been picked up by a mass of goop and pulled towards the body.

He watched as he passed the teenager, who seemed now ready to move into action. Throwing his arm out, the boy pulled off his forearm with his other hand, revealing a sword underneath what was now shown to be a prosthetic. Immediately rushing forward, he sliced through the “arm”, releasing the child from its grasp.

Jumping down into the water, the teen caught the younger boy with his back, throwing the child over towards the shore with his shoulders. As he settled, Dororo turned to watch in awe as the other continued to fight the demon. 

It bubbled up in the water, towering over the teenager who seemed nonplussed. Running over towards the wooden bridge, the male used his sword to quickly climb up it, waiting for the demon to follow after him.

“He’s not looking at it!” he exclaimed in wonder, propped up on his elbows as he lay observing. 

Using the sword, the teen pulled off his other arm, tossing it aside to reveal yet another sword. The two hands, one holding the other, landed next to the boy who looked on in confusion.

Meanwhile, the demon bubbled up over the bridge, following after the battling longer-haired male. Slashing his sword, the teen twirled this way and that, avoiding the liquid splattering across the bridge while he ran towards the other side. Pausing for a moment, he jumped down backwards, slashing out his arms against the support beams as he did so. He landed on one of the parallel beams, flipping towards another and then another as the demon followed after him. Once clear of it for the moment, he raced forward across the beams, again slashing at the supports.

The demon continued to follow him as the bridge fell apart, the teenager amazingly flipping out of its way with ease. 

Dororo could only gape in shock as the bridge fell apart, the demon along with it. In front of him on the shore stood the older boy, watching seemingly indifferent was wood and and grime splintered everywhere. Within moments the bridge and demon had fallen into the water, both now completely destroyed. 

After a moment, the teen walked forward, picking up the sword sheath he had thrown earlier and carrying it back to shore in his mouth. Dororo ran forward to meet the other, grasping the arms in his own while laughing in wonder, “Wow! That was amazing, bro!” 

    The other held his arms out as the younger fit them back on, covering the blades once more. Still starstruck, the child watched as the now obviously skilled boy took the sheath from his mouth and returned it to his side, “Your face, those eyes, and ears are all fake, aren’t they?” he asked.

     The longer-haired male looked around as Dororo waved his hand as high as he could, “How can you see?” before seeming to realize, “But you can’t hear either, can you?” testing it by clapping his hands in front of the other’s face.

    No reaction, as he had expected.

    There was something even more amazing about that, that the other had managed to fight so well and take out what was clearly a powerful demon with such ease. Shrugging his shoulders, the shorter admitted, “I wouldn’t even be able to walk a step with my eyes closed, but you run and jump without using a cane!” he admired, jumping around a bit to imitate the other as he did. Staring up at the unchanging face, he couldn’t help but question, “How do you do that?”

    The other seemed to suddenly stop, face turning up, causing the child worry, “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, wondering if another demon were nearby.

    “Are you hurt?” he continued as the elder began to shake, his hands held out as though about to reach up to his face. Grabbing his arms, the boy continued to implore the other for an answer, taking a step back when what was no shown to be a mask fell from the taller’s face.

    Falling to the ground with shock and a tinge of horror, the child could only watch as the skinless face looking down at him suddenly grew what it was missing, skin covering over the blood and muscle previously shown while the teen fell to his knees. The male grabbed his face in shock after it was finished, his hands covering his features as he reared back.

    With fear in his voice, the child fell backwards on his back, “What’s going on? Your skin…”

 

    Lightning struck in the distance, a man in a prim black suit looking up at the sound of thunder that accompanied it. Suddenly, a larger flash of lightning struck, hitting in a familiar direction. In fact, the lightning itself was familiar to him. Gasping in shock, he reached up a hand to touch the cross-shaped scar on his forehead. He knew where he had to go. Moving from the window of his home, he called out to his driver, “Osamu, prepare the car!”

    With a light in hand, he gazed around the familiar Hall of Hell, having seen the electricity hit the building once more. He had left his driver at the foot of the stone steps leading up to the main part of the temple, the elder man knowing from experience not to follow the governor up here.

    “What the…”

    To his shock and horror, one of the twelve demon statues had been cleaved clean in half, as though by a sword. Taking a step back, he could exclaim, “This cannot be…!” knowing this would only mean bad news for him and his region.

    Almost as soon as he thought it, a landslide fell upon the nearby suburban town. 

    The rain continued to pour unceasingly. 

 

At a large mansion in the nicest part of Kaga City, a voice rang out cheerfully, “Mother!” a male cried, rushing towards his parent’s room. 

Surprised at the sound, the woman turned to look as her son rushed towards her, a bottle in hand, “I made a vitamin drink in home economics today for you! Please have some, it’ll make you strong,” he smiled, “I’ll serve it to you, so wait for me!”

    Doing her best to smile at his enthusiasm, she remarked, “How wonderful,” turning her gaze to look up through the window at the rain pouring down from the sky. In a moment, her expression fell, face turning away towards the ground, “It was a day like today…the rain,” she noted, her head quickly finding the altar she still kept with the now-headless statue. No matter how she tried, she could never forget him. Her nameless first son. She didn’t even know if he were truly alive or dead, the nurse had never returned to tell her.

    It ate away at her every day, affecting her daily life. She could not even enjoy watching her second son, Tahomaru, grow up. Watching him, all she could think about was how this could have been her first child’s life. Her son, her son she would never even know, could have done this. He could have gone to school, made friends, ran around, had fun. There were so many regrets, her guilt and self-blame grew every day. If only she could have stopped her husband, if she had been stronger, been able to save her baby… 

    She felt terrible for Tahomaru, never able to give the boy the right amount of affection he deserved. How desperately she wanted to, but every time she couldn’t help but think about her first son, how she had no right to be a mother like this. Every day was painful, every day hurt. The only thing she could do was pray, pray to the Goddess of Mercy that if her son was alive, that he may be protected. It was all she could do, and she would not miss a day of it. Even if he were dead and it were all fruitless, she would rather have tried to do something than have done nothing at all as she had before.

 

     “Y...Your face,” Dororo stuttered, still sprawled across the ground, “What’s going on?” now touching his own face as he watched the elder seem to caress the new skin in amazement, “What are you?”

    Sitting up now, he implored the other for a response despite knowing he could not hear, “Are you human?” it was a valid question. Could a human really fight like that against a demon? Much less one who was so heavily disabled as this boy seemed to be. Maybe an older trained policeman could have, but a teenager without arms, legs, hearing, sight, or apparently skin until just now?!

    He received a blink in return.


	2. 万代の巻

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dororo and Hyakkimaru are thrown in jail, things get a bit worse for Daigo, and Tahomaru thinks a lot.

    Following after the taller boy, Dororo frowned, watching his back. The teen still had yet to reply to his questions, if he even could, but that wasn’t what bothered the boy. In a world like theirs’, with demons and ghouls liable to appear and attack anyone at will, the idea of a being that could grow body parts wasn’t too far out there. While he had initially been unsure if the so-far nameless boy were human or not, the child had come to the conclusion it didn’t matter that much. Whoever he was, the other had saved him and killed the demon. That had to mean he was good on some level, right?

    Once that was realized, he had decided to follow the taller to wherever it was he was going. It wasn’t like the young thief had anywhere else to go anyways, with no home or family to speak of it was easy to go wherever one wish. Besides, it was smart to stick with someone strong. With dangerous supernatural beings most humans could barely fight off random appearing, the survivor would stick with one of the few who could defeat them. It was staying alive basics 101!

    No, what had the child frowning was something more simple than that. He was being ignored! Utterly and entirely so. Although he knew the elder appeared to lack his senses, Dororo had tried everything to get his attention in some way. Standing in front of him waving his arms--to which the other had somehow managed to walk by him, what was up with that?--to tugging lightly enough on the boy’s prosthetic to get his attention, but not enough to unsheathe his sword, and yet, nothing! If he weren’t afraid of startling the other too much and getting a sword to the face, he would have jumped on the teen’s back even.

    “Where are we going, anyways…” Dororo sighed, speaking more to himself than anyone else. Of course, he would get no reply in response.

    They had been walking for a bit of a while now, maybe fifteen minutes at most, the long-haired boy walking with his eyes straight ahead while his new companion trotted by his side, the forgotten mask spinning around his fingertip lazily. He supposed it didn’t matter much where they went, he hadn’t had any plans today and with his latest suckers-- and, he meant, pursuers, out of the picture, he was free to go wherever he wanted.

    Still, that had been frightening. Not that Dororo had never seen a ghoul attack before, but a demon was a whole other level. Demons were more rare than ghouls, and even more powerful. While he wasn’t sure if this was true or not, there were whispers here and there about peaceful ghouls living among humans in certain areas. Apparently some of them could become good, though demons were almost always assuredly evil. Maybe this guy was one of those good ghouls? But if he were stronger than a demon, maybe not…

    So lost in his thoughts was he that the child didn’t even notice the elder stop suddenly, bumping his head against the teen’s back. Looking up, he noted the bus stop sign near them, the other moving to sit with blank contentedness on the bench underneath it. He hadn’t even known someone could look simultaneously blank and content until now.

    “Oh, are we taking the bus then, bro?” a more rhetorical question than anything, the brunette following after. With a small hop up, he sat down beside the other, looking around the bus stop. Deciding he didn’t care if the other never responded, he continued, “I haven’t ridden the bus in a long time. Not since I was a kid!” though, he still was.

    Suddenly realizing something, the boy looked to the other with worry, “Wait, bro, do you have any money? How are we gonna pay the fare? I don’t have any on me right now.”

    As he wondered this, the bus rolled up before them, coming to a stop. While Dororo continued to panic over their monetary situation, his companion stood up, walking to stand on the side of the bus. Realizing he was being left behind, the child rushed after him, the two watching as the doors slowly opened. It was a fairly empty bus, all things considered. Only two or three people filed out, though given the time of day perhaps that wasn’t too unusual.

    The elder seemed to stand there for a moment, Dororo glancing up at him curiously. It was only when the doors began to close that he took action, grabbing the other’s hand and dragging him inside with a yell, “Ah, wait, wait! We’re coming!”

    “It’s one-hundred and fifty yen,” the bus driver greeted them, gesturing to the change depository at his side.

    Unsure of what to do, the boy fidgeted, wondering if he could somehow talk their way into a free ride. He began to try to make up and excuse, “W-Well, you see, we--” only to stop as his companion reached into his bag, pulling out a card and swiping it through the card reader twice.

    Nodding his head, the man gestured for them to head in. Dororo, meanwhile, stood with wide eyes, blinking as the swordsman turned and walked towards the seats. After a moment, he broke out into a smile, following after the other, “Bro! You didn’t tell me you had a Suica card! Geeze, I worried for nothing…”

    The elder was seated in one of the two-person rows, sitting next to the window. Seeing this, Dororo’s smile grew, bounding over to sit beside the other. The child swung his legs as he sat, turning to speak to the teen, “I knew you knew I was there! I guess this means you’re okay with me coming with you then, huh?”

    He paused, thinking for a moment. Grabbing the other’s hands, he brought them up to his throat, “My name is Dororo, Do-ro-ro,” he spoke each syllable slowly, “What about you?”

    If the elder couldn’t see or hear, perhaps he could feel the vibrations and somehow understand? It was worth a shot! If that didn’t work, there wasn’t much else he could try. Maybe he could write out his name on the male’s palm? He at least knew how to write his own name is hiragana!

    Unfortunately for him, the other remained silently. Letting out a sigh, he resigned himself to being unable to properly communicate with the swordsman, “I guess you really can’t understand me, huh? I guess I’ll just call you No-name then,” it was better than nothing at the least.

    For his part, the taller boy stared at the other in front of him as though he could really see, ignoring as they passed a few stops. Despite what Dororo thought, something about what he had been doing must have distracted the other, because he suddenly hit the red button and stood up at the next stop. If he didn’t know better, the child would have thought the taller had suddenly realized he had missed his stop or something. How could he, though? Then again, he had had to get to their town somehow…

    “What’s wrong, bro?” the boy asked, following after as the other raced out of the doors, ignoring the odd looks they got from the handful of other passengers.

    Now outside again, the thief took a moment to look around at their surroundings. It seemed like they were in another town, a slightly smaller one this time, closer to the capital than they had been. Less buildings and people milled about here than in their previous stop, although their previous town had been nothing in comparison to the main city.

    “Where are we?” he asked no one, searching for some sort of welcome sign.

    For his part, the elder male had just realized he had gotten off at the wrong stop.

 

    In the aforementioned city, a teenage boy sat in his high school classroom, mind swirling with various thoughts and worries. Tahomaru should be used to it by now, he knew he should, but the way his mother behaved bothered him. She had always been quiet and sad, it would be remiss to say she was unkind, but she was more distant than anything. To be very honest, she had never felt like much of a mother to him.

    He didn’t resent her for this, though. Although he didn’t know why, the teen had overheard some of the maids gossiping over it once. Apparently something had happened sixteen years ago, back when the demons and ghouls had started appearing more outside the city. That was also when she had started praying religiously to her altar, a habit she practiced every morning, afternoon, and evening. It was odd, with how much his father seemed to dismiss religion, how much she fervently believed in it.

    Tahomaru wanted to do something to get her attention, to snap her out of her funk. Despite her shortcomings, he did love his mother. He loved both of his parents, even if neither was around him very much. Not that he blamed either of them, his mother was clearly troubled while his father was a very busy governor with important work to do. If anything, his father was an inspiration for the male. He, too, wanted to do something to help their region, to make a difference, especially in these trying times.

    This weekend he didn’t have anything planned, he would try to get some research done at the library for events from sixteen years ago. Maybe he could ask their history professor too? He might know something, though given how recent it was maybe he could ask any adult about it.

    “Young master, what are you thinking about?” a feminine voice spoke up, breaking the teen from his thoughts.

    Looking up, he was greeted with the sight of his two bodyguards, Mutsu and Hyogo. The three had grown up together, the twins being only a year older than him. Despite being twins, the pair looked almost nothing alike, with the male twin, Hyogo standing taller with rougher hair and a widow’s peak. His sister, Mutsu, had softer straight hair she wore up in a bun, a bit more uptight than her brother. The pair had stayed back a year to remain in the same school year as him, and although both were serious, they also were kind and not afraid to tell him their opinions when given the chance.

    “I told you two to just call me by name, at school I just want to be like any other student,” he sighed, though couldn’t keep a smile from growing. He didn’t know where he would be without the two, really. Without any siblings to keep him company and his parents keeping to themselves, Tahomaru had grown up lonely. Even at school, his classmates were more intimidated by him than enamoured, most keeping their distance or remaining amicable acquaintances if anything.

    He supposed he couldn’t blame them. Most were probably afraid of accidentally doing something to upset him, thinking his father would retaliate in some way. Of course, he would never abuse his power like that, but how could they know? Still, it was lonely. At the least he had his clubmates to talk with after classes ended.

    With a bow, Mutsu responded, “My apologies, I will do my best to keep that in mind. That said, do you have kendo practice today, sir? The bell rang a few moments ago.”

    Seeming to have just noticed this fact, Tahomaru sat up straight, eyes moving to look at the clock, “Oh! I was lost in my thoughts, thank you, you two. I didn’t realize how much time had passed,” he grabbed his bag, standing up.

    “It’s no trouble at all, sir. Would you like us to walk you there?” Hyogo questioned, his own bag on his shoulder.

    With a shake of his head, the youngest dismissed them, “No, I can go myself. Why don’t you two go to your own clubs? I don’t want you to be any later because of me,” he explained.

    Not really wanting to agree, but also not wanting to go against the other’s wishes, the two gave small bows, “Then, we will see you back at the house. Have a good practice, young master,” disregarding his earlier request not to call him that at school. It was after school hours anyways, it was fine.

    “See you,” the brunette waved with a smile, watching as the two walked down the opposite way. With a sigh, he had noticed that young master slipped in at the end, Tahomaru readjusted his bag and made his own journey to the practice room. Perhaps he could clear his mind with some exercise, or rather gather his thoughts better.

   

    Scowling, Daigo turned to his secretary, repeating what he had just heard, “‘Tourism is down’? What is causing that? Has anything happened in the city?”

    He had just received this month’s economic reports, the red dip in tourism that had been growing over the past year deepening even further. It didn’t make sense, this was the nicest city in all of Japan right now! What could be causing less people to come and visit them? Had some incident he hadn’t heard of occurred?

    Shifting uneasily, his secretary, who coincidentally was also his current driver, spoke again, “It seems like people do not have as much money as they used to, very few are able to afford the trip here, paired with increasing ghoul attacks in surround regions...most seem to think it best to stay home than to travel,” he explained.

    With fists clenched at his sides, the governor narrowed his eyes, unable to dispute the reasoning. Still, what could he possibly do to combat this? He thought his deal with the demons would have been enough to ensure prosperity without having to do much, but that was proving to have been a fallacy. Perhaps they could send out squads to defeat ghouls in surrounding areas? Their own lessened forces were always kept on standby, attacks nonexistent within the city limits. It would give them something to do as well as solve one of those two problems.

    Turning from that, he pulled up another paper, pointing to it, “And what is this? The Echizen government refuse to give us aid for the recent landslide?”

    The secretary gave a nod, hating his job more and more as he explained the next bit of bad news, “Yes, they say they barely have their own resources. They can’t afford to send any aid here while their own economy is doing so poorly, not to mention the frequent attacks…” which was also one of the reasons tourism was down.

    Daigo pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. This was not good, not at all. At the least, the two problems seemed to be intertwined. If he were able to send out the units as he had been planning, that could also encourage Echizen to send their aid. With the ghouls out of the way, it would be easier for them to do so, not to mention their gratefulness for his aid.

    Mind made up, the man placed the papers back down on his desk, eyes moving up to rest on the nervous secretary standing before him, “Have the ghoul defense portion of our police force move out to the surrounding areas, they can work on fighting the ghouls there for now,” he ordered, face thunderous.

    “Y-Yes sir!” the man replied, giving a bow before rushing out to relay the orders. He was glad to get out of there as quickly as possible.

    Leaning back in his chair, Daigo let his gaze wander to the window, eyes caught on the temple sticking up between the buildings to the east. He’d probably have to pay it another visit soon.

 

    “Wow, this is a pretty nice place,” Dororo commented as the two walked along the streets, passing various stores and vendors. It seemed the town had an abundance of fresh produce, with many stands set up outside stores displaying a vast array for keen-eyed housewives and house-husbands to inspect. The boy had never seen so much fresh fruit, fish, and vegetables, both had always been more rare on their island nation, but they had become even more so with many groups ruined by ghouls.

    Stopping to inspect a few apples, the child spoke up, “I guess they must be pretty rich, huh bro? Maybe we can find a job--” stopping as he noticed the elder pick up a raw fish and bite into it, to the chagrin of the store owner standing beside the stand.

    “Ah, bro! What are you doing? You can’t just eat that, you have to pay for it!” he exclaimed, trying to pull fruit out of the other’s hand. Not that he hadn’t stolen food before without paying for it, though he had never eaten raw fish just like that from the stand. What if he got sick?

    In an attempt to placate the fuming shop owner, Dororo held up his hands, apologizing, “I’m sorry about that...he’s never really seen this sort of thing before, so…” though he didn’t know if that were truly the case or not, it was the best excuse he could think of.

    “What do you two little thieves think you’re doing? You can’t just eat that! Someone call the police!” she shouted, grabbing at both of their collars so they couldn’t escape.

    Struggling to escape, Dororo tried to reason, “No, wait, it’s a misunderstanding! Bro, do something!” turning to the other, who still had the raw fish in his mouth.

    Somehow or another, the teen seemed to actually understand him this time. In one quick movement, the teen pulled off his left arm with his right, revealing the sword underneath.Reaching forward, he attempted to snag the back of the boy’s hoodie with it. A fact which served to only get them in more trouble.

    A customer gave a shout of fear, already on the phone, “Oh my god, he pulled out a sword!” before turning back to whoever they were on the phone with, “Yes, a sword! Please come quickly,” evidently that whoever being the police dispatcher.

    Resigned to their fate, Dororo stopped struggling, now hanging limply. Turning to his companion, he sighed, “Bro, put your sword away. We don’t want to get another charge with the other ones we already have…”

    Within minutes the police had showed up, one shoving the teen’s arm back over the sword. The pair were handcuffed and pulled along, the town apparently small enough to not need a car to get to the jail from here. Not wanting to get in trouble for resisting arrest, the two did nothing as they were unceremoniously shoved into a small jail cell, the child throwing a few angry words at the officers as they fell.

    “Hey! You could at least be gentle about it!” he shouted from his position on the floor, complaints going ignored as the policemen walked away towards wherever it was police officers spent their time away from the jail.

    With a sigh, the boy sat back, “Well...now what do we do?”

    “Looks like you’re stuck in here with me,” an elderly voice spoke up, catching the thief’s attention. Looking up, the child found an elderly man sitting by the back of the cell, a biwa on his back. His own unseeing gaze met the brown-eyed one scrutinizing him with a smile, gesturing to the instrument at his back, “I was thrown in for loitering myself. They seem pretty strict about the law here.”

    Shocked by the light crime, the young man crawled forward to sit near the other, “For loitering?! Geeze, they really are harsh...Bro, you okay?” turning now to face his companion on the other side of the room.

    “Bro…?” the elderly man repeated, head turning to look where the boy next to him had. Staring at the soul before him, he couldn’t help out letting out a huff with a smile, “Oh, it’s you. I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

    At those words, the child now moved to look at the musician once more, even more surprised, “You know him?”

    Shaking his head, the wanderer explained, “No, I saw him sixteen years ago on a river once. It seems like you did survive, hm?” he questioned the teen.

    “‘Survive’?” Dororo repeated, wondering what kind of history they had. Then he paused, “Wait, you saw him? How? Were you not…” letting the sentence trail off with some degree of tact.

    Waving his hand, the man, Biwamaru, laughed, “No, no. We who are blind see differently from you, I suppose you could say we see the ‘soul’,” he explained.

    Interested now, the boy sat with his legs crossed, moving a bit closer, “The ‘soul’?”

    With a nod, the other continued, “That’s right. Different beings have different souls. Evil ghouls and demons are a burning blood red, others a vibrant green, while to me, you,” he paused, turning to look at the other, “and other humans are a silver. I guess you could say humans are in between good and evil, generally.”

    “Can bro also see like that?” the child asked, wondering if that was how the other seemed to generally know how to avoid objects.

    With a shrug, the wanderer gave a small nod, “I’m not sure, but I’d imagine so. If he’s ever moved like he could see, that’s why,” throwing out a small laugh.

    “I’m glad to see you all getting along so well,” a sharp female voice spoke up from in front of the cell, the two looking up to see a beautiful dark haired woman smirking down at them.

    A clang from the cell next to theirs’ had Dororo looking over as a young man in a t-shirt and jeans grabbed the bars, “What’s the deal with this? You can’t just throw some kids in jail because you feel like it,” he spoke, pointing to the two newcomers.

    Hazel eyes turning sharp, the woman glared at the other, “Silence, Kanekozo. If you speak anymore, you will face the consequences we spoke of,” her smirk returning.

    Unable to do anything at the threat, the man sat back, glaring at the ground, “Dammit…”

    That interruption out of the way, the long-haired woman turned back to the three in the first cell, “Now then, I hope you three enjoy your stay. My name is Bandai, I am the head warden and head of the police in our tiny little town. You’ll be here for quite a while…” trailing off as her eyes landed on long-haired boy silently watching her.

    The teen had stood up at the sound of the voice, prosthetic already off as he held his sword raised. He rushed forward, slashing at the bars in an attempt to attack the speaker. Surprisingly, the bars actually were cut, a hole now cut through them that the male rushed forward out of. The other two watched in surprise at the sight as the warden yelled for reinforcements, a number of officers appearing from out of nowhere and restraining the teen.

    Once he was safely secured, Bandai allowed her smug smile to reappear, pointing down the hall, “Put him in a more secure cell, bring the child, the troublemaker, and old man with him. They’ll be gone by the next morning, no need to worry over them too much.”

    Now four people sat in a smaller cell, the walls solid instead of barts, Dororo sighing yet again. It was a day of sighs, it seemed. Turning to the other, he exclaimed, “Bro, what were you doing? You can’t just attack the warden like that!”

    From next to him, Biwamaru spoke up, “No, he was right to. That woman isn’t human,” he explained, eyes turning to rest on their fourth companion, “she was a blood red demon.”

    “W-What?” the boy asked, sitting back in shock. Eyes scanning the other three’s faces, he exclaimed, “We have to do something then! There’s a demon controlling the town and no one even knows!” now standing up. Turning to the boy he was traveling with, he apologize, “Sorry for yelling at you, bro,” the other had been right to attack, though perhaps not smart in how he had done it.

    The old man give a shrug, readjusting his sleeve, “What do you suggest we do then?”   

    Blanching, the young thief’s eyes darted around, trying to think of something, “We could...uh...well…”

    “Actually, I have an idea,” the other member of their cell spoke up, pulling a small rolled pack of candy from his pocket.

 

    “Help! The kid just started breathing out fire! I think he’s a demon!” Kanekozo shouted from the room, smoke beginning to flow out from the small barred window on the lone door.

    The officers outside looked at each other, unsure of what to do. A demon certainly couldn’t be kept in there, it would be smarter to get it out now and eliminate it rather than leave it in there. Still, there was no harm in letting it kill the other prisoners, was there? They would die anyway…

    ...But if it broke free, wouldn’t it kill them immediately next? A grudge for putting it in the jail cell, maybe. They were the closest guards, too. If anyone were going to die, it would be them.

    Mind made up, one of the two nodded to the other, running off to warn their coworkers to evacuate the building. The other rushed towards the opposite way with a shout, “Bandai, there’s trouble!”

    Soon found the warden herself standing in front of the door, arms crossed as she smirked. Coming close to the window to speak, she gave a laugh, “Did you think I would believe that little trick, you rats? I don’t know why you had them call me here, but I would know if there were another de--”

    “Now!” Kanekozo shouted, Dororo rushing forward and jumping, easily pushing away the sharp end of a chunk of the bars directly into the eye of the woman, rendering it unusable. Behind him, the young swordsman took over, sword cleaving through the opening and down to the floor.

    With a hiss, she took a step back, hand going up to cover the wound, face twisting grotesquely. Looking at the now sliced through door, the sword having cleaved the wooden from the bottom of the now broken window area she growled, “How?!”

    “Easy enough, we cut the window before but left it in place so you wouldn’t notice, and with the metal gone it’s easy enough to cut would with a sword,” the child responded smugly from his place next to his elder companion, pointing to the woman, “The smoke was crushed up ramune whistle candy that guy blew through the opening,” pointing back at the mastermind of their little plan.

    As he spoke, the woman’s eyes turned more and more yellow, two slit pupils staring hard at him, “You’ve made a terrible mistake...that cell wasn’t to keep you in, it was to keep me out!” now clawed hand rushing forward to slash at the stoic teen.

    Reacting instantly, the boy drew his other sword was well, holding both out before him. He rushed forward to meet her, his sword meeting her claw. A pair of black ears appeared on her head as the two struggled against each other, ghostly fire balls taking form around them. The balls, as if following commands, flew towards the male, one grazing his face, burning the newly formed skin while another burnt one of his shoulders.

    “D-Doesn’t that hurt…?” Dororo asked, watching from the back of the cell, out of the way with Biwamaru and Kanekozo.

    The younger of the two replied absentmindedly, “He probably doesn’t feel it. I’ll go get some of the human officers and explain what’s going on, you can come with me and Biwamaru can stay to help if the kid needs it,” he gestured to the still-dueling pair.

    Eyes moving to the old man, the boy furrowed his brow, “What? But he’s an old man, what can he do?”

    A chuckle escaped the elderly ex-priest, reaching back to reveal the sword hidden within his instrument, “I’m not completely helpless. Not everything is as it first appears,” he advised.

    Brown eyes widening at the sight, the child gave a nod, “Alright then, we’ll be right back! Take care of bro for me!” running off with the other.

    Bandai had managed to get a scratch across the swordsman’s cheek, her tail now appearing while the two fought. Every slash the teen sent would be met with a claw, the boy having to oscillate between jumping around to avoid the ghostly fires and blocking her blows.

    “A bakeneko, is it?” Biwamaru thought to himself, hand on his chin. It was too bad there was no water around...oh. With a smirk, he raised his arm, bringing his sword out. For a moment, he studied the shape of the sprinkler head, thinking about where to aim. After a moment, he had decided, throwing the sword up as though it were a boomerang. The blade soared through the air, shearing the head off of a number of the sprinkler systems above the pair.

    Within moments, water began to pour down from above. Immediately the demon stopped, letting out a hiss as she attempted to rush out of the room, “No, I told those idiots not to leave these in any of the cells!”

    Turning to face her opponent, she pointed at him, fire dissipating, “You damn brat, the only reason you’re still alive is because it failed to get you. Once that thing is gone, you’ll be--”

    Her words were cut off as the teen cut diagonally through her, the body immediately dropping to the floor among the ever-growing puddle of water. Now thoroughly soaked, the two remaining living beings stared at the demon, waiting to see if her soul would dissolve. When living things, any sort of living thing good or evil, die, their visible soul will also die along with them. Luckily, that seemed the case here.

    Relaxing his stance, the teen replaced his arms with help from the wandering musician, his hair plastered to his forehead. If he could see, he would have trouble being able to, given how his long hair now covered up his eyes, leaving only half of one visible. In a way, he resembled a vengeful ghost from a horror story.

    “What have you done!” one of the officers shouted, falling to his knees beside the dead demon. He pulled at his hair, unable to tear his eyes from the corpse of the monster.

    Hands on his hips, Dororo stood next to Kanekozo, both watching as other officers also came forward to stare in horrified shock, “What’s the problem? She was a demon, we told you! You should be happy she’s gone!”

    Shaking his head, the man began to explain, “No, you don’t understand. We needed her! Miss Bandai was the one who brought prosperity to this town,” he replied vaguely.

    Stance relaxing, the child looked at the other with confusion, “What do you mean? A demon can’t bring good things,” Kanekozo shifting next to him.

    “She would kill all the criminals for us, and because she didn’t need their money or possessions, she would give them to us to sell or use,” he continued, no sense of remorse or shame on his face.

    Angry now, the boy jumped forward, fist raised, “You what?! You let her kill people for your own selfish gain?” gritting his teeth as he did.

    One of the officers gave him a strange look, “Maybe you don’t understand, they’re criminals. Their lives were worth nothing, it didn’t matter if they died or not. They ended up helping the town more than they ever could,” speaking as though the child were too young to possibly understand anything.

    “That’s terrible...All of you knew and went along with this? You guys are even worse than she was,” he bit out, fists clenched tightly.

    Completely nonplussed by all of this, the sixteen year old walked passed everyone, moving to leave the jail and go back outside now that his work was done. Realizing this, Dororo was quick to follow, not even sparing a glance back at the so-called keepers of peace. Kanekozo and Biwamaru were soon to follow, deciding it would be better to leave than to stay, who knew what the officers would do now that they had to explain to the public their warden was gone. Neither wanted to be the scapegoat for that, at least not while they were still around.

    Soon enough, the four stood at the bus stop, the youngest of them uncharacteristically quiet and brooding. The boy’s main companion was staring down at him, watching as his soul flickered in discontent. Turning, he crouched down in front of the boy, holding his face in his hands.

    “W-What the heck are you doing?” Dororo asked, blushing madly as he tried to take a step back from the other. Too close, way too close!

    Reaching into his bag, the teen searched around for a bit before pulling out a picture, handing it to the other. Upon receiving it, the boy tilted his head in confusion, grasping it in his hand, “What is this...a picture?” he asked, looking at it.

    In the photograph stood a young boy with one blank visible eyes, his almost chin-length black hair hiding the other one. He wore a simple t-shirt and shorts, the fake joints of his arms and one leg visible. Next to him stood an older man with a beard wearing a white lab coat, a smile on his face as he placed his hand on the boy’s head.

    Looking from the photograph and back up, the child questioned, “Is this you, bro…?” flipping it over, he saw a number of characters and what looked like a date and address. Oh no, kanji. There were a few he knew, but not many. Dororo had never gone to school, there had never been an opportunity to, “Er...something-mai and Hyaku-demon-...something. Hey, can either of you read this?” he asked, turning to the other two.

    “Let me see it,” Kanekozo asked, holding his hand out. Glancing over the familiar characters, he read, “Jukai and his son, Hyakkimaru, and then there’s the date and an address,” handing the photograph back to the child.

    For a moment, the boy thought, eyes moving from the photograph, to the teen he had been following, then back down again, “So then...is your name Hyakkimaru?”

    “One-hundred demons...how fitting,” Biwamaru laughed, shaking his head.

    Smiling at the new knowledge, Dororo handed the photograph back to the other, “Hyakkimaru bro! Did you do that to cheer me up? Thank you,” glad to finally know what to call the other, and that he had cared enough to try to cheer him up.

    “Well, this is nice and all, but I have to get going,” Kanekozo explained, thumb pointing down the road, “I’m gonna head off.”

    “Oh, right! Maybe we’ll see you again sometime,” Dororo gave a nod. The remaining three watched as the man left, disappearing down the road an out of sight. Seeming to suddenly remember something, the child gave a thoughtful look, “That’s weird, we never did learn why he was in jail with us, actually…”

 

    Right before his very eyes, a second statue was sliced in half. Daigo could only watch as it glowed purple before fading, a brilliant light preceding the clean cut. Another demon taken down in such a short amount of time? How could this be? Very few people could take down the ghouls, much less the demons. There had to be someone hunting them down and killing all of them, but who could? Who would?

    There was only one person he could think of possibly being the one, but it didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be, it shouldn’t be, but...it was true the nurse had never returned. What if she had raised the thing? What if it was fighting to get its body parts back? Would it even be able to, crippled as it was?

    With nothing he could do, the governor turned from the status, walking back out resolutely. For now, there was only one thing he could really do. Initially he had thought the first statue, of which had been destroyed a few years ago, had just been by chance. The more recent one could also have been, it wasn’t completely impossible for humans to be able to defeat a demon.

    And yet...And yet now three were gone. Two in a short period of time. Something had to be going on. Some sort of targeted effort.

    Steel eyes narrowed, the man called out to his secretary and driver, opening the door to allow himself in, “Osamu, I need you to look into something for me. Do not let anyone know why you are investigating this. See if anyone has heard of a boy, likely looking about sixteen, with…”

 

    Next to Dororo, Hyakkimaru suddenly became to spasm, throwing his head back as he gripped his face. Thoughts ripped from his musings, the boy noted how similar it was to when he had grown back his skin, “Bro! Are you alright? What is it?”

    Watching this curiously, Biwamaru noted how the other’s nervous system seemed to suddenly glow, veins spreading throughout his body appearing more clearly for a split second. Interesting…

    “I think he just got something back from the demon,” Dororo explained as they watched, frowning, “Last time he grew back skin after killing one,” which meant he probably grew something after he defeated demons.

    “Is that so…” the elder replied as the teen seemed to calm down, looking down at his hands curiously, “...Well, I hope you don’t mind if I continue to travel with you for a bit. I’m on a journey myself,” he spoke with a small smile, seemingly amused by something.

    Seeing no problem with this, Dororo was quick to agree, the three sitting to wait for the bus to come. When it did, Hyakkimaru swiped all three of them in without batting an eye, the child cheering at the wonders of a limitless transportation card.

    Watching the two sit in the seats in front of him, Biwamaru couldn’t help but wonder to himself. What that demon had said before they killed her, could it be the red was…

 

    Upon returning home from his kendo practice, Tahomaru removed his shoes, calling out a greeting of, “I’m home!”

    He fully expected not to receive a reply, used to staying alone with the hired help. It was rare for his father to be home, and if his mother were she was often locked up in her room, while Mutsu and Hyogo wouldn’t be back from club for another hour or so. The boy had been unable to stop thinking about his earlier musings, kendo practice only serving to further his sense of conviction to follow through and investigate the matter. Was it not his right as their son to know what troubled his parents so? If it were something serious, he would need to know about it if he were to one day succeed his father as governor.

    “Welcome back,” a deep voice greeted him, causing the teen to look up in shock. His father stood before him, his usual stern expression upon his face.

    Immediately standing up straight, he smiled, “Father, you’re home! Was your day well?” the pair walking into the sitting area.

    The other’s expression seemed to darken for a moment, quickly replaced by a more normal look, “It was fine, thank you. Your mother is still up in her room, I imagine. I’m going out tonight, tell the cook he doesn’t need to make me anything,” he explained, already moving to leave the room.

    A mixture of emotions whirled within Tahomaru at the exchange, the boy giving a nod as he watched his father’s back disappear around the corner, “Of course, father. Have a good night out!”

    Placing his bag next to him, the boy collapsed on the couch once he was sure his father was gone, now even more confused. Something had clearly happened, he knew he hadn’t imagined that expression, and yet he also knew his father would never tell him. Was it the same situation, the same issue? Was there something else? Usually his father had no trouble explaining what was going on in the office to him, the man himself hoping Tahomaru would one day take over his role as his heir.

    He really needed to find out what this thing that had happened was, even more so if it were now affecting his father as well. How, though? Aside from the library or asking a teacher, there wasn’t much he could think of. Neither of his parents seemed willing to discuss whatever it was, this clear even in the conversation he had just had with his father. Perhaps he could check his father’s office…?

    Usually he kept out of nosing around in there, the office was his father’s sanctuary, it was wrong for him to sully it. Yet, if he were to become governor one day, would it not then become his own office? Given the nature of the problem, he felt he was justified in taking a look into his father’s documents to see if there were anything there. In the end, it was for a greater good, even if he had to do something he didn’t necessarily find right. As long as his father didn’t find it, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

    “Tahomaru?”

    A voice snapped him from his thoughts, the male looking up, only to be surprised by the sight of his mother standing before him. She was wearing one of her usual flowing traditional kimono, a forlorn expression upon her face as she gazed at him.

    Moving his bag to the ground, the boy pat the seat next to him with a smile, “Mother! Would you like to sit with me?”

    She stood, shocked herself for a moment, before giving a nod and a smile, sitting down on the couch next to her second eldest son.

    He smiled back at her, ready to ask her how her day had gone before pausing. Actually, maybe this was his chance. While his father’s issue may be its own thing, this was a good opportunity to speak to his mother about it. He could outline his worries and observations to her, finally have the talk he had been wanting to for years now. If anyone in this home were to tell him the truth of the matter, it would be her.

    “Actually, mother...I was wondering if you would talk to me about some things…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I could have made this chapter even longer, but I'm not sure I would have survived writing even more... I tried to deviate more from the episode here, but still wanted to keep things relatively the same. I did change the type of demon to fit the scenario better, which I hope no one minds! Fight scenes aren't my forte, but I tried, hehe... 
> 
> Suica cards are real and I am a fool for never buying one.
> 
> I haven't read this over yet, but eventually I will reread everything and make corrections if need be. I also want to give a huge thank you to everyone who read/commented/subscribed/kudos'd/bookmarked! You really help motivate me, and a double thank you to those who came over from reading my Gintama fic! In my first author's note I said I would update every two weeks alternating them, but I'm going to try to update both once a week...no promises it will happen every single week, but I will try!
> 
> Next chapter will involve Jukai more, Daigo will find even more trouble coming his way, and Tahomaru keeps trying his very best.
> 
> By the way, what do you all think of the new opening?


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